Ann Conkle
Mar 27, 2012

Researchers use nanoparticles, magnetic current to damage cancerous cells in mice

Using nanoparticles and alternating magnetic fields, University of Georgia scientists have found that head and neck cancerous tumor cells in mice can be killed in half an hour without harming healthy cells. The findings, published recently in the journal Theranostics, mark the first time to the researchers' knowledge this cancer type has been treated using magnetic iron oxide nanoparticle-induced hyperthermia, or above-normal body temperatures, in laboratory mice. For the experiment, researchers injected a tiny amount -- a tenth of a teaspoon, or 0.5 milliliter -- of nanoparticle solution directly into the tumor site. With the mouse relaxed under anesthesia, they placed the animal in a plastic tube wrapped with a wire coil that generated magnetic fields that alternated directions 100,000 times each second. The magnetic fields produced by the wire coil heated only the concentrated nanoparticles within the cancerous tumor and left the surrounding healthy cells and tissue unharmed.

Companies
1
Patents
1
0 Comments
Related Articles
Ann Conkle
Jan 23, 2012
MicroRNA biomarker could improve head and neck cancer outcomes
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found a biomarker in head and neck cancers that... Read More
Ann Conkle
Mar 1, 2012
Robotic surgery proves successful, less invasive way to treat HPV-related oral cancer
Over the past few decades, doctors have noted a surprising trend in cancer of the tonsils and base of the... Read More
Raina Pang
Mar 13, 2012
Chill pill: How new methods in therapeutic hypothermia can save lives
Therapeutic hypothermia  is currently one of the hottest trends in medicine. It's mainly being used to reduce injury to the... Read More